TICKETS

– Woodbine fans and officials will be glued to the television for the feature race at Keeneland today when Kinghaven Farms-bred SQUARE EDDIE competes in the Lexington Stakes

Race 9 goes off at 5:40.

The 1 1/16 mile race is an event to get a race into Eddie, who has not started since January and his owner and trainer J. Paul Reddam and Doug O’Neill think he can be a serious Kentucky Derby horse.

He doesn’t need the earnings to get into the maximum 20 horse field, he just needs a good race.

The colt drew post eight of 12, and will share topweight of 123 pounds in theLexington on Keeneland’s Polytrack surface.

It will be only the second start of 2009 for Square Eddie, who ran second to The Pamplemousse in the Grade III San Rafael at Santa Anita on Jan. 17.

Square Eddie came out of the San Rafael with a cannon bone stress fracture that wasn’t discovered until Feb. 2, two weeks prior to his next scheduled start in the Grade III Southwest at Oaklawn Park.

From the Schenectady Gazette: “Square Eddie is really doing well,” O’Neill said. “The thinking is, it would be smarter to get a race into him before the Derby, rather [than] to train up to it.”

The Lexington brings Square Eddie back to the site of his biggest career victory, the Grade I $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity last Oct. 4, where he finished eight lengths ahead of Pioneerof the Nile, who was third.

Three weeks later, Square Eddie was favored in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, finishing second by 11⁄4 lengths to Midshipman.

WOODBINE FRIDAY

Ramsammy takes three, Husbands, Kabel, 2

– On a glorious spring afternoon, day 6 of the Woodbine season started off with Lucky Peacock-Thomas and Julia Carey teaming up to win the first race with LUCY’S DOLLY, an Elajjud filly who rallied from just off a 3 horse pace duel to win the maiden allowance for Ontario sired gals.

It was the first of a pack of three wins for a hustlin Emile Ramsammy, who rode with plenty of verve yesterday.

The feature of the day was won by ABSOLOUTE HEAVEN, an American filly who shipped into Woodbine last fall and won her only race here and was coming off a winter layoff for trainer Graham Motion.

The Not for Love filly was bred by celebrity David Cassidy and she is out of the Canadian mare Princess Caveat. The filly pressed the pace of Archies’Gal and then secured the lead into the turn and held off Ky Bluz Girl and Accopela Choir to win by ¾ of a length. Patrick Husbands rode and her time of 1:23.21 for 7 furlongs translated into a 79 Beyer Figure.

A pair of Ontario-sired 3yo allowance races were interesting with the filly MINKREDIBLE’s 57.24 for 5 furlongs being slightly faster than the colts diviison won by D’AWESOME CAT.

Minkredible, owned by Overheath Stable and trained by Mike DePaulo, led all the way and won handily with a stunning 85 Beyer Figure (her previous best was a 59). She was bred by Mike Byrne and is by Tomahawk. She was a $75,000 (US) yearling purchase.

D’AWESOME CAT, co-owned and trained by Steve Attard, led all the way in the boys split. The son of D’Wildcat raced his 5 furlongs in 57.38 so he too ran an 85 Beyer Figure. Ramsammy rode both front running winners. The colt was bred by Willow Walk Properties.

Other notes from the day’s racing: there were two consecutive post parade scratchings on the card – the filly THAT’S JUST WRONG under Patrick Husbands in race 3 and the claimer ST. SYLVANS in race 4, also ridden by Patrick Husbands.

Bear Stables claimed the maiden filly PLAY ON WORDS with trainer Mike DePaulo, who has a few claiming horses for the barn. The Bear also has Reade Baker as his Woodbine and a string at Hastings Park with Dale Greenwood.

Just $1.5 million was bet on the card at Woodbine yesterday.

GRADE 3 WHIMSICAL HIGHLIGHTS PACKED CARD

– From Wikipedia “Whimsical (foaled 1903 at Raceland Stud in Kentucky) was an American thoroughbred filly racehorse. She was sired by the great stakes winner Orlando, out of the mare, Kismet, who was sired by United States Racing Hall of Fame stallion, Hindoo.

Whimsical is best known as the second filly to ever win the Preakness Stakes. After placing second in the Champagne Stakes as a two year old, she won the Preakness in a time of 1:45 by 4 lengths over Content and Larabie.”

Woodbine’s first graded stakes race of the year is upon us – a small but sleect field of fillies and mare will sprint 6 furlongs and SMART SURPRISE from Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings will be tough to beat.

Trainer Josie Carroll has said the mare bounced big-time off her 107 Beyer Figure win the Chou Croute Stakes at Fair Grounds last time at Oaklawn. The mare loves Woodbine’s Polytrack.

Watch out for invader PROUD HEIRESS, who was supplemented to the race. Trainer Wayne Mogge has this filly primed for a top effort.

And some Queen’s Plate hopefuls jostle today – KEINO WEST in an allowance race is a possible contender for trainer Steve Attard while maidens combat in race 5 and the buzz horses are PRIME TIME, FULL THROTTLE and a pair from Catherine Day Phillips’ barn, DR. FUNKENSTEIN and QUIET APPROVAL.

Saturday, Woodbine, post time: 4:36 p.m. EDT

WHIMSICAL S.-GIII, $150,000, 4yo/up, f/m, 6f (AWT)

PP HORSE (SIRE) TRAINER ODDS

1 Arden Belle (Dance Brightly) Gerl 8-1

2 Smart Surprise (Smart Strike) Carroll 8-5

3 Proud Heiress (Broken Vow) Mogge 7-2

4 Hello Maggie May (Lemon Drop Kid) Attfield 8-1

5 Dancing Allstar (Millennium Allstar) Jordan 8-1

6 London Snow (Trajectory) Charalambous 12-1

7 Mimi Cooper (R. Cooper) Lawrence 12-1

8 Verdana Bold (Rahy) Vella 9-2

CANADIAN-BRED WINNER ELSEWHERE

– BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN was foaled in Ontario at Anderson Farms Inc. And the filly is a 2 time winner in 6 races in California. Yesterday the 3to win an allowance/optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles on the grass. She is by Quiet American out of Bye the Victory by Cool Victor and was an $11,000 yearling purchase.

SUGGESTIONS?

– From the FORT ERIE TIMES, a news item on the launch of websites devoted to the town of Fort Erie and the track…

Thibert discusses tourist guide, new websites, Racetrack

Posted By Kris Dubé

New ideas for this year’s season at the Fort Erie Racetrack are being offered from people all over the world

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Fort Erie Economic Development and Tourism Corporation (EDTC) general manager Jim Thibert gave a brief presentation to Town council, about two new websites. One is a renovated version of the EDTC’s website, which is now www.forteriecanada.com and the other is a website for the recently formed Friends of Fort Erie Thoroughbred Racing Consortia. On this website www.friendsofforteriethoroughbredracing.org, there is a discussion forum where people from across the globe have been pitching ideas and suggestions for the upcoming season at the Fort Erie Racetrack, which will involve 78 race dates at the 112-year-old border oval.

Thibert spoke with the Times after the meeting, saying there has been input from people involved in horse-racing from several states in the U.S. and other countries. Considering how many people outside Fort Erie and Niagara are hoping for the EDTC to be successful in purchasing the track from its owners Nordic Gaming for $35 million, Thibert said it’s evident the Racetrack is heading in the right direction and there is still plenty of interest in the facility.

“We’re getting ideas from all over the place…it’s nice to see that people are paying attention and working with us,” said Thibert.

The reason behind most of the feedback on the site coming from people from out of town, according to Thibert, is because there is another very serious issue in Fort Erie, that also deserves plenty of attention.

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